Bad food will not make a man mean, but a noble man makes mean
food respectable.
Kokowai or red ochre sucks up oil when you mix them. (If a chief
visits you, he and his followers soon absorb all your property!)
A smooth tree you may climb, however tall it is; but how can you
pass over the sea, glassy as it looks?
Perhaps, although I am little, you will find me troublesome as a
sandfly.
Although hidden from us, we know there are plenty of roots of
the wild convolvulus running under the ground there; so with the
evil thoughts of our hearts.
You won't care to look long at the good food you have before
you, but a face you love you can often look at (a pretty wife is
better worth getting than a rich one).
A girl's beauty is like a fine day, a storm soon follows it; so
old age and ugliness follow close upon loveliness.
There are a multitude of stars in the heavens, but a very little
cloud covers many of them (meaning that a small band of resolute
men may defeat a large number).
If he had taken refuge on a mountain-top we could have climbed
it; if he had taken refuge amidst ocean's surge our canoes could
have contended with it; but having taken shelter under the
protection of a mighty chief, who can reach him there?
If you have a sperm whale's tooth, you must also have a sperm
whale's jaw to carry it!